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Taxi driver jailed over brother-in-law murder bid

A King's Lynn taxi driver has been jailed for 12 years after launching a "planned attempt to kill" his brother-in-law in a row over a family business. Robert Whitby, 55, fired a marine flare at Michael Jackson after breaking into his home, in Middleton.

Mr Jackson managed to flee as flames tore through his house but was pursued in a car by Whitby. Norwich Crown Court heard Whitby then made two attempts to run over Mr Jackson. Police arrived after being called by Whitby's sister, Jane Jackson. As officers intervened, Whitby was heard to shout: "I wish I had squashed the [edited by admin] ... It's not over. My mates will get him."

The court heard Whitby had fallen out with Mr and Mrs Jackson over the ownership of a Citroen Berlingo. He had been working for the couple as a taxi driver but took it "very badly" when they refused to register the vehicle in his name.

After making an earlier threat to kill Mr Jackson, Whitby arrived at the couple's house in the early hours of March 31. The court heard he had punched his sister as he arrived at the property, before attacking Mr Jackson with a coffee table and firing the flare at him.

Whitby pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to the attempted murder of Mr Jackson. Katharine Moore, mitigating, said Whitby was not "academic" but was a "hard-working family man".

Mr Justice Bean, sentencing, said: "I regard this as a planned attempt to kill." He said the incident had caused "enormous" psychological damage to Mr and Mrs Jackson and their business. But he told Whitby the offence was more serious because it had "ruined" the lives of Mr and Mrs Jackson.

"The value of what you destroyed in money terms was about £200,000 but it is even more serious in that the Jacksons' lives were ruined," he said.

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